Charles Dickens ' Great Expectations Essay

Great Expectations tells the ultimate rags to riches story of the Orphan Pip. Dickens takes his readers through life changing events that ultimately mold the identity of the main character. Dividing these events into sections will provide the basis for interpreting which events had the most profound effect on Pip’s identity towards the end of the novel. These life-changing events provide the catalyst for the development of Pip’s character from childhood, his adolescence, maturing into a social gentleman, and finally becoming a self-aware man of society.

‘Great Expectations’, written by Charles Dickens during the Victorian era while England was adapting to the industrial revolution, is a life-long story of a boy called Pip. This was a period where England was experiencing major social and cultural changes, and society was unstable – there were clear hierarchies and a gulf between the rich and the poor, and children were not treated with respect or care. Despite the fact that England was a powerful and a formidable nation, Dickens criticises English society throughout this book. Pip in ‘Great Expectations’ grows up later to suddenly receive a huge sum of money. He also fulfils his expectations of being what he thinks is a ‘gentleman’, only to later realise how foolish he has been and how wrong

In Charles Dicken’s Great Expectations Pip does not appreciate the surprise fulfillment of his dreams and only becomes selfish and condescending toward those not as fortunate as he. Pip’s character deration as a result of his inheritance is evidenced by his desire to serve “a gallon of condescension, upon everybody in the village” (Dickens 151). Dickens uses Pips ungrateful attitude toward his home town to illustrate the corruption of aspirations when one did not have to work for his success. Pips continued under appreciation of his success and subsequent failure allow Dickens to rebuild Pip through hard work to and achieve “happiness “and fulfill his dreams meaningfully (Dickens 487). Dickens informs the reader that meaningless wealth and success is worthless, and that true success comes from hard work and passion.

The evidence that Pip is an insecure, impressionable young boy is that Estella opinions in his coarse hands and thick boots made him break down and cry. He blames his sister for his insecurities because of his sisters’ bringing him up had made him sensitive.

The difference in class structures of Victorian England was dependent on the lifestyles and jobs of individuals. The Victorian era of England lasted from 1837 to 1901. The Victorian England hierarchy was divided into three different classes; the upper, middle, and lower class and was reliant of occupational differences. The hierarchy was very rigid and there was little social mobility, because of the fact that normally a person was born into their class and even their future career. In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens displays the model of class structure through the character Pip Pirrup. Pip struggles to find his place within the hierarchy. Throughout the novel, Dickens writes about the different classes in England. Pip belongs the working class due to his family and is set to be a blacksmith, but finds himself in the societal shift that occurred in England in the nineteenth century. Pip wants to achieve his great expectations and change the path that his life was going on. He wants create a better life for himself than what he would have had if he followed in the footsteps of his family. Dickens also creates various characters in the different classes to expose the relationship between each class. An individual’s class was a dominant factor in creating an identity. People of the upper classes thought very little of the people “below” them. Throughout his journey, Pip reveals information about how the different social classes lived and how members of each

To begin with, Pip shows the danger of only pursuing class, as he realizes that money does not make him happy. To illustrate, Charles Dickens begins Pip’s awareness of social class in his novel, Great

Charles Dickens, author of Great Expectations, provides a perfect example of the hope of class mobility. The novel portrays very diverse and varied social classes which spread from a diligent, hardworking peasant (Joe) to a good-natured middle class man (Mr. Wemmick) to a rich, beautiful young girl (Estella). Pip, in particular, elevates in the social pyramid from a common boy to a gentleman with great expectations. With his rise in society, he also alters his attitude, from being a caring child to an apathetic gentleman. During this process, Pip learns how he should act and how to become a real gentleman. Social mobility and wealth, furthermore, carves a disposition and how a character is looked upon.

Charles’ father is a perfect example of this shift in power, more to the rich and less to the poor. “One of the important perceptions of Dickens’ fiction is of Victorian society as one in which the weak support the strong, the starving underwrite the satiated, the poor prop up the rich, the children sustain the parents- and the female holds up the male” (Houston 13). Dickens was leading a kind of social revolution, trying to reenergize the presence of the working class not only in politics, but in society as well. Pip in Great Expectations is a warrior used to fight in this social clash, showing that the true gentleman is not rich with money, but rich with satisfaction and happiness. Dickens is trying to show that when Pip is thrown into his expectations and becomes a “gentleman” he is not a gentleman at all, it is only by the end of the novel when the true gentleman is shown through Pip.

He lives with his poor sister, after their parents death, and her husband, Joe. Despite his household, he still has a good conscience. Even when mistreated, he cares for those around him. When he must steal from his home for the convict who threatens his life, he still feels badly. He feels guilty that he is stealing from his sister, despite the fact hat he dislikes her. And later, after he has returned from giving the convict food, he feels even more guilty for not telling Joe, whom he loves very much, the truth of what he did. And even when Pip gave the food to the convict, and his life was threatened and he was scared, he still asked the convict if he enjoyed his food. He even cared for the man that wanted to hurt him. As a six year old, this is very impressive and rather uncommon. When a six year old is scared of someone, one wouldn't expect them to ensure that they were happy. One would hardly expect his of anyone. It shows that he was compassionate for his age, and that he was a very caring person. He also had no interest in becoming educated. He was content with helping Joe in his forge and being apprenticed to him as a blacksmith. This opinion changes drastically when he meets Ms.

During the Victorian Era, the industrial revolution rapidly gained pace and the differences between the rich and the poor in the English society increased. When Pip’s older brother-in-law Joe comes to visit him in London, Pip treats Joe in a different manner than before, because Joe was now in a lower social class. Pip’s feelings about Joe’s arrival were “Not with pleasure… I had the sharpest sensitiveness as to being seen by Drummle.” (p.203). Pip was afraid to be seen by an unpleasant, wealthy young man called Drummle, in fear of being looked down on because of Joe’s lower class.

Status is crucial to the people in Victorian England, and Pip is no exception. Anxious to impress Estella, Pip is determined to become a gentleman. However, instead of winning her heart, Pip’s imprudent aspirations strains his relationships with those who truly care for him. He falls into a depression of misery and dissatisfaction. Pip’s ambition is his obsession; instead of discovering happiness, he loses it.

Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is a tale of ambition and self improvement. With the help of a then unknown benefactor who promises to provide Pip with the training and wealth, Pip’s wish to become a gentleman comes true. The two passages demonstrate advancement in money and standing does not correspond with betterment in morals. Pip’s dissatisfaction of his current state is apparent from the first passage.

There are salient junctures in Pip’s upbringing that make him who the person he was; this is a tale that in which Pip was soliciting for the awareness of himself, as well he realized that his life had major elements of obscurity; due to the fact he was presented clearly two radical different lifestyle choices; one, involving a life as a blacksmith; and the other, involving the path as life as an affluent and prosperous gentleman. Dickens carefully wrote in the periods of Pip’s life; and how those set of circumstances affected by his choices, as well as affected Pip’s later choices he had made. The temptation of class and wealth perverted the actions of Pip and other people that were around him; Pip was therefore contemplating on how he was saved, by reminiscence of the stages of his own life. In the first stage; Pip encountered Magwitch; by accident, this affected the outcome of the later events of his life; Pip was then introduced to Miss Havishism; and Estella, who he fell in love with; consequently then he preceded to be dramatically persuaded by the empty promises he made to himself from his encounters with Miss Havhishism and Estella. Dramatically, Pip then learned the truth about his wealth and that Magwitch was Estella 's father; this collapsed Pip’s vision of reality and forced him to alter his exceptions concerning the truth. Pip than had to save himself from his own selfishness, as well as save

There are salient junctures in Pip’s upbringing that make him who the person he was; this is a tale that in which Pip was soliciting for awareness of himself, as well he realized that his life had major elements of obscurity; due to the fact, he was presented clearly, two radical different lifestyle choices; one, involving a life as a blacksmith and the other; involving the path as life as am affluent prosperous gentleman. Dickens carefully wrote in the periods of Pip’s life and how those set of circumstances; affected by choice, as well affected Pip’s later choices he had made. The temptation of class and wealth perverted the actions of Pip and other people around him; Pip is therefore contemplating on how he was saved by reminiscence of the stages of his life. In the first stage; Pip encounters Magwitch; by accident, this affects the outcome of later events of his life; Pip is than introduced to Miss Havishism and Estella, he fell in love with Estella, and was dramatically persuaded by the promises he made to himself, from his encounters with Miss Havhishism and Estella. Dramatically; Pip than learned the truth about his wealth and that Magwitch was Estella 's father; this collapsed Pip’s vision of reality and forced him to alter his exceptions concerning the truth; Pip than had to save himself from his own selfishness, as well as his malice actions, to the ones who were faithful to him; finally, at the end Pip is a full grown adult and had gain

the eyes of a young boy and later on in the novel a man. This allows